Raheel Sharif will not hurt Iran's interests: Nasser Janjua

National Security Adviser (NSA) Lieutenant-General (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua on Friday assured General (retd) Raheel Sharif is a well-wisher of Iran and his possible role as chief of Saudi-led military coalition will not hurt Tehran’s interests.

Addressing a conference, Janjua said the former army chief’s decisions as head of the Saudi-led military coalition will not be against Iran or Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan and Iran appear to be at odds over the possible role of the former army chief in Saudi-led counter-terrorism alliance as Tehran has voiced its concerns over Islamabad’s decision to give the greenlight to Raheel to lead the multi-nation coalition.

Iran is known to have opposed the Saudi initiative because of its serious differences with the oil-rich kingdom over the current unrest in the Middle East, particularly in Syria and Yemen.

Earlier this week, Iran for the first time publicly expressed its displeasure over Pakistan’s move to allow Raheel to lead the 39-nation alliance Saudi Arabia had cobbled together in December 2015. Iran’s state IRNA news agency quoted the country’s Ambassador in Islamabad Mehdi Honardoost as saying that Tehran had reservations over the issuance of a no-objection certificate (NoC) by the Pakistan government to the former army chief.